TURKEYS FOR PROFIT. 



Turkeys In Demand—Varieties— Enclose the Breeders— Fencing— Mating and Housing— Overfeeding— Late Hatched 



Turkeys— Green Food for Growth— Freeing From Lice— Results of Line Breeding Supply 



Grit — Observation and Care Necessary to Success. 



By Mrs. Charles Jones. 



PP'^V'^i URKEYS have been raised longer than the 



If memory of those now living can trace and 



SsSA stiil the business is in its infancy. People 



are realizing each year that it is one of the 



most profitable crops of poultry that can be 



raised on a farm from a market standpoint. 



From the fanciers' outlook they are making such great 



strides in size, weight and plumage, and command such high 



prices that they are 'doubly profitable. 



If the exhibit of Bronze turkeys at the Chicago show 

 was any criterion, the business of raising Bronze turkeys has 

 reached a point that nearly eclipses all other departments 

 of poultry raising. When one yearling 'torn will bring $50 

 and a pair of young turkeys $75 it proves the value of the 



A Winner From the Yards of Mrs. Charles Jones. 



goods, and these were the prices asked and paid for some 

 fine specimens at Chicago. Immediately breeders put up 

 prices on eggs from 50 cents to one dollar apiece. From 

 these facts one can safely conclude that the Bronze turkey 

 business is booming, especially when the last year has seen 

 more turkeys shipped to foreign countries than were ever 

 sent before. The turkey has been basely slandered and has 

 been considered to be about as stupid as a mule. I have 

 never had any experience in trying to teach a mule to keep 

 his hind feet on the ground when his best friend stood be- 

 hind him, but I have taught turkeys to respect my wishes 

 and stay on one plantation. 



Seeing a four-horse load of turkeys going to market gath- 

 ered from four farms, I said, surely I must go and wake up 

 Rip Van Winkle, so that he may see what the despised "Old 

 Woman's hen business" is now. When he went to sleep 

 about twelve hens and one rooster was the poultry equip- 

 ment of a farm, and turkeys were wild in the forest. If per- 



chance a hunter brought one down for Christmas or Thanks- 

 giving that was all the people of those days expected. 



The newsboys of Chicago were presented with over two 

 thousand turkeys this season, and I really do not know 

 which to pity most, the turkeys or the newsboys. At the 

 mayor's banquet in Paris over 2,000 pounds of turkeys were 

 consumed, and still the demand increases. The poultry busi- 

 ness as Swift's poultry packing houses in Chicago promises 

 to equal, if not exceed, the hog packing industry. 



As our population increases the great tracts of land 

 used for grazing will be taken up into farms and the great 

 droves of cattle now raised on them will be a thing of the 

 past. Pork is not good for a steady diet, and the people will 

 dPinand an immense number of turkeys, chickens, ducks and 

 geese to meet the deficit caused by the lack of cattle. 



WHITES, BLACKS, BUEFS APlD REDS. 



I am frequently asked how many varieties of turkeys 

 we have bred. I have only bred the old-fashioned scrub and 

 the Bronze. I prefer the Bronze to any variety I have ever 

 seen, as it grows so very much larger, is so hardy and it is 

 such a pleasure to have a flock of these brilliant beauties 

 around. 1 think it is easy to get a good Bronze near to 

 standard requirements in markings, brilliant plumage and 

 weight, although there has been added pound after pound 

 to the weight clause, and one has to get them almost as 

 large as a calf to answer the requirements in weight. I 

 think the weight is too high, as a turkey will shrink from 

 one to two pounds while en route to the show. I have had 

 them weighed in the show room where they have shown a 

 shrinkage of over three pounds. It is a settled fact that 

 the Bronze turkey matures slower than other varieties, as 

 tii-y grow until four years old. I think the Black turkey 

 comes next as a desirable turkey; they nearly equal the 

 Bronze in size and beauty. I breed the Bronze now for size 

 and beauty as well as for their popularity. There is a great 

 demand for them. The White Holland comes next in pop- 

 ularity. They are liked by people who have small range, 

 as they are what one may call a domestic turkey, not given 

 to extensive wandering, and possess very little of the wild 

 spirit. I am quite partial to white fowls, but on account of 

 hardiness and great weight, as weil as beautiful plumage, 1 

 prefer the Bronze. 



I once owned a trio of black turkeys for a short time 

 In one of my orders for turkeys to go to Europe I had a 

 call for a trio of Black turkeys and a trio of Buffs, and as 

 I did not breed them I had to find some good enough to 

 ship across the poud. I sent to a well known Ohio judge and 

 he sent me a Black torn that had never been beaten in the 

 show room, a pullet that took first premium at the Ohio 

 state fair, and another equally as good. Well, that trio 

 was so dazzlingly beautiful that it almost shook my alle- 

 giance to the Bronze. If ever I should change my breed 

 of turkeys it would be to take up the Black turkey. I also 



